Map prior to 1803 of Tyrol with Bishopric of Trent and Bishopric of Brixen

One hundred years ago on November 11, 1918, the ethnicity and homeland of the Tyrolean people changed. For on that day the Armistice of World War I was signed, breaking apart the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Shortly afterwards, on September 10, 1919, the Treaty of Saint Germain was signed, formerly annexing German-speaking South Tyrol and Italian-speaking Trentino to Italy. For centuries this entire area was inclusively known as “Tyrol”. With signing of the 1919 treaty, the region of Tyrol located south of the Alps was transferred from Austria and now became the northern Italian provinces of Trentino-Alto Adige.

In comparison, Italy was a young country, having only become a unified Kingdom (a monarchy) in 1861. By 1922 it fell into a Fascist dictatorship under Mussolini. After World War II, Italy became a democratic republic on June 2, 1946.

View of the Dolomites from Bolzano/Bozen, Alto Adige (South Tyrol)

For most of the past millennia our ancestral lands were influenced and controlled by Austria. Although our ancestors spoke Italian and regional dialect, their nationality and passports prior to 1919 stated that they were citizens of Austria, as they had been for centuries. Now with the stroke of a pen (and much political maneuvering by Italy), the region became Italian. (The events that lead up to Tyrol becoming part of Italy and the subsequent suppression of Tyrolean culture is a complicated and involved story. If you would like to read more about the history of this region, I have provided informational links at the end of this blog post.)

View of Val di Non from Castelfondo, Trentino

Since most Tyroleans emigrated to the United States prior to the 1918/1919 annexation, they came to America as Austrian citizens, and were never really considered Italians. However our relatives who remained in Trentino, now officially became Italian citizens. Mr. Brunelli told me that 97% of USA-bound immigrants arrived before the annexation and were not subjected to the subsequent Nationalism fueled by Fascism that occurred particularly in the Province of Alto Adige/Sud Tirol.

The confusion of ethnicity for Tyrolean immigrants is reflected in the United States Federal Census. My immediate family is identified in three different censuses as: Austrian, Swiss and Italian! I have seen other Tyroleans listed in census as Bavarians and Czechoslovakians. But when you research our shared genealogy, you realize that all of these families are from the same region of the Val di Non, often from the same village! For those unaware of historical events, the 1900, 1910 and 1920 US Censuses can seem bewildering when it refers to ethnicity. Are we Austrian, German or Italian? Is Tyrolean an ethnicity if it doesn’t exist as a country?

San Genesio/Jenesien with view of Dolomites, Alto Adige (South Tyrol)

In the latest issue of Filò (Volume 19), publisher Lou Brunnelli (a 1st generation Tyrolean American) offers an insightful answer to the cultural and ethnic questions that plague American descendants of Tyrolean ancestors. He has given me permission to reprint this issue’s Introduction here:

Dear Tyrolean American …

Father Bolognani, the historian, sociologist, and apostle of our Tyrolean American community asserted the following … “A strange situation hindered the immigrants from the Trentino, making life more difficult for them then for other ethnic groups that arrived as the same time. Though they spoke no German and were Italian by language, they belonged to the Austrian empire and held Austrian passports. Considering themselves Austrian, or Tyrolean, they did not settle in cities as did most Italians. A search for their identity was difficult.” In other words, our people sought their definition, their differentiation from other groups. As their homeland, the ancient Tyrol was annexed by President Wilson and the Allies without a plebiscite [direct vote by eligible voters to decide an important public question] to Italy, they literally became ethnic orphans as Italy adopted a process of Italianization, becoming Fascist and then our [America’s] political adversary as they declared war on us in their affiliation with the Axis Powers. Defeated in the war and recovered with our American help, Italy became culturally adverse by no longer differentiating our history [Tyrolean] and our identity and imposing on us an identity that they had evolved while forgetting ours. What happened after the annexation, happened there and not here [America] … to them and not to us.

The Filò does not engage in a political polemic but legitimately and justifiably seeks to differentiate, to enhance the literacy and legitimacy of our historic existence and experience. Article by article it asserts with pride and joy: that who we are is who we were! ~ Lou Brunnelli

Modern map of the northern Italian provinces of Trentino (dark pink) and Alto Adige (light pink)

I find it fascinating that our immigrant ancestors brought to America a culture that they kept alive in small communities, but that 100 years later many might say no longer exists in their ancestral homeland. Even today there is a conflict brewing between Austria and Italy concerning the proposed dual-citizenship for German-speaking South Tyroleans (see articles noted below).

Many of us were told as children that we were Tyrolean, not Italian. This concept might seem confusing to our cousins in Italy. But our grandparents and great-grandparents arrived in America as Austrians, became United States citizens and never accepted the label of “Italian”. From the scribbling and crossing out of country origins I have viewed in the US Census, our ancestors were just as confused about their ethnicity after the annexation as we are today attempting to describe our own background as Tyrolean Americans.

In conclusion, I take no sides and make no opinions concerning the ethnicity of Trentino-Alto Adige.I present this information only as a means to bring understanding to our shared Tyrolean American experience, place our ancestry in context to the 1918 Armistice and grasp how the events of the past century have changed Tyrol and its people.

My thanks to Lou Brunelli for sharing his knowledge and insights of Tyrolean culture. I highly recommend subscribing to Lou’s publication Filò: A Journal for Tyrolean Americans. It is a quarterly magazine provided free of charge to the descendants of Tyrolean immigrants.

Cecelia Joliat, a descendant of the Genetti family, is the granddaughter of Regina Branz Daly (1931-2017) and Dr. Joseph E. Daly (1919-2013). She is also the great-granddaughter of Henry Branz (1897-1971) and Erminia Genetti (1896-1971).

Last year Cecelia made the long journey to her ancestral home of Castelfondo in the Val di Non. Today Cecelia shares with us an essay she composed about her family’s homeland along with personal photos from her trip. Many thanks Cecelia for your beautiful words and images!

The Val di Non – by Cecelia Joliat

Winter and spring had met in the valley and decided to form a truce; through the air was warm, little patches of snow clung to the grass and hid in the shadows of the houses at the base of the mountains. The mountains themselves served to break up the monotony of the blue sky, which threatened to swallow the valley whole. Indeed, the Val di Non was a place of perfect peace and clarity, a place where the tedious actions of every day life seemed to be carried away with the wind. It was there that my family packed its belongings and, with heavy hearts, left the comfort and security of their homeland to travel to America.

Over a hundred years later, I was inspired to make a personal pilgrimage to the land of my ancestors, and what I found exceeded expectation. The hillsides were covered in bare apple trees, slumbering in preparation for the next harvest, and the roof of every church glittered like a green gem. Train tracks cut swaths through the fields and bored holes in the sides of the mountains, with the stops punctuating the vast stretches of empty land in between. Neither photographer nor painter could do such sights justice.

No measure of time spent in the valley would have been long enough, so when it came time to leave, I left with the same heaviness of heart that my ancestors had. The windows of the train framed the snowy peaks, quaint farms, and ancient castles until the sun retreated and I was left peering into the darkness, hoping one day to return. ~ by Cecelia Joliat

If you missed Reunion 2016 or would like a unique Christmas gift for a family member, this DVD is the perfect solution! Place your order TODAY – hurry before you miss this opportunity to own a piece of Genetti genealogy!

The price for this beautifully packaged presentation is $20 (includes shipping).

Our online family photo collection is growing! This month I received a group of photographs from Dale Genetti. Dale is the daughter of Robert and Geraldine Genetti, and the granddaughter of Albert and Mildred Genetti (all from Hazleton, PA). I have included five of Dale’s pics on our Photograph page along with captions. If you haven’t visited our family website in awhile, why not take a stroll down memory lane! Click here to view Photographs in our Gallery section.

The rest of Dale’s family memorabilia has been added to the online Genetti Family Tree, attached to the listings of her grandparents and parents. To access our online tree, click here and search for the name of a specific person. Or just spend some time browsing our many, many ancestor/descendant listings. We now boast 1,739 names on our family tree – and there are still hundreds more to research and add. Thanks Dale, your contribution to our genealogy project is much appreciated!

And while you are perusing our extensive Photograph page, see if you can spot five more photos that I just added from my own collection – the descendants of my grandparents, Angeline and Leon Genetti. Pictured here is a photo taken at the Genetti family farm, about 1933. This is a tricky picture since, you can’t see many of the faces. Between Dale and I, we were able to identify half of the family members in this photograph. Can you guess who these people are! Click here and scroll down the photo page to see who is in this oldie but goodie!

BTW – did you know that you can click on every picture on our photo page to view an enlargement? Yep, no need to squint – just click to see a larger version with all of the details. Happy browsing!

As a genealogist, I get excited about dates and stats. But nothing thrills me more than finding a memoir or letter written by an ancestor. These bits of history allow a personal glimpse into the life and times of a family member.

On my last visit back to Pennsylvania, I was fortunate to be gifted a box of memories by my Uncle Leon Genetti. It proved to be a cache of information, transporting me back decades into my personal family line.

I am now in the process of sorting and scanning documents before returning this “time capsule” back to my uncle. The amount of historical information I have found is incredible, yielding several stories I will tell you in future blog posts.

The first bit of Genetti memorabilia I’d like to share with you are two letters penned by my great-grandfather Damiano Genetti, sent to his son Stanley (Costante) Genetti. The letters were written in December of 1938 and August of 1939, sent from Castelfondo, Italy.

A little back history about Damiano – he returns to his native village in the Val di Non (Trentino, Italy) around 1922, without his family. He lives in Castelfondo for the next twenty-two years, until his death in December of 1944. During this time World War II breaks out (Sept. 1939 – Sept. 1945). The northern province of Trentino/Alto Adige is caught in the middle between German and Italian forces.

It is significant to note that Damiano’s wife, Oliva Zambotti Genetti, passes away in August of 1938. The second letter discusses Damiano paying for masses to be said in the memory of Oliva.

Another known fact to consider is that by 1939, Damiano is making plans to return to America, but is unable to leave due to the declaration of war in Europe.

Now back to our letters! After inspecting the documents, it’s obvious that the original letters were penned in dialect or Italian and later translated into English by someone familiar with the Tyrolean tongue. We can tell this from the unusual sentence syntax. Also, the signature at the bottom of both letters, does not match other documents personally signed by Damiano. From these observations we can conclude that the letters were received by one member of the family (in this case Damiano’s son Stanley) then translated, copied and distributed to other family members. We can also conclude from the mention of past letters, that Damiano wrote to his children on a fairly frequent basis and was concerned with their welfare.

Before composing this blog post, I shared the letters with Bill Genetti, Damiano’s grandson, to get his impressions. Bill made a very important observation: “The 2nd letter is dated 3 days before WWII broke out. September 1st was the date Hitler attacked Poland and war was declared. That 2nd letter may be the last letter to get through and he died before the Allies reached his area.”

Wow! Damiano was writing to his family on the very brink of war! I felt many emotions reading his letters – sadness, loneliness, affection for his children, a resignation of his position in life. Damiano’s words resonated through the decades, speaking volumes.

Since I was born thirteen years after his death, I can only go by the description others have told me of my great-grandfather: stubborn and determined, intelligent and scrupulous, caring and generous, a humanitarian yet distant and detached from his family. Perhaps Damiano’s words will give you a new perspective of an ancestor who lived many different lives (husband, father, mining superintendent, Calvary officer, businessman, traveler, mayor, herbalist).For these are personal letters from a man who lived a complicated life. It is an honor to share them with you now.

I’ll leave Damiano’s words speak for themselves. (To read each letter, click on the image for an enlarged view.)

Do you have ancestor letters tucked away in your basement or attic? Why not share them with the Genetti Genealogy Project. Write me at info.genetti.family@gmail.com. Each letter will be added to your ancestor’s digital file in the Genetti Archive we are in the process of compiling.

Thank you to all of the cousins who have provided new information for our family tree. Your help has been invaluable in growing our Genetti Archive.

As a family genealogist, I research our deceased ancestors who usually leave a pretty good paper trail for us to follow. But it’s much more difficult gathering info on living family members and keeping our tree up-to-date. I rely on all of you to send me names, birth dates, marriages, spouses and children of current generations.

During the past two weeks, I have completed three branches of the Genetti family tree. First is the family of Mary Pettis Russell. Mary is the great-granddaughter of Erminia Genetti and Emanuel Recla, who settled in Spokane, Washington, and the granddaughter of Mary Recla and Harry Pettis. We met Mary’s sister, Linda and her daughter at our recent family reunion. With Mary’s info, ten new family members have been added to the Genetti/Recla/Pettis branch.

William Vigilio Genetti (1852-1932)

Our second family are descendants of Virgil Genetti and his second wife, Margaret Mueller, from the Illinois clan. Tom Genetti and his sisters, Genelle and Sharon, are the children of Virgil’s youngest child Vernon. With their help, we have added twenty-one new descendants to the Illinois Genetti branch.

Our third family line is that of Jeanne Genetti Murphy. Jeanne’s parents Faustino Genetti and Matilda Turri immigrated to Pennsylvania. Jeanne is ninety-two years old and a first generation American. I was able to research and add many new ancestors from Jeanne’s father’s generation in Castelfondo, as well as American cousins and the family’s current generation. This update gave us twenty-nine additional family members on our tree.

Jeanne Genetti Murphy – 1940’s.

All total, sixty new Genetti descendants are now a part of our offline and online family trees!

You can access the online Genetti Family tree at: http://genettifamily.tribalpages.com/. (For privacy reasons, personal information for living family members is hidden on this tree.) This page is a great place to start your own genealogy research on our extensive family.

Our offline tree contains all information (such as birth dates and places, spouses, children, etc) on living and diseased descendants. This data base forms the basis of our Genetti Archive. I am happy to provide a 5-generation Descendant Report free of charge to any family member for a specific branch of their family. Simply send me a request through our Contact page and I will email you the report. (Note: Descendant Reports are NOT available to anyone outside of the family. If I have a question about the authenticity of a request, I will not issue the report.)

We still have many branches of our tree to update – both from the United States and Italy. So if your immediate family is missing from our tree, take a few minutes and email me. If you can provide me with information on your living family, I will do my best to research your ancestral line. Together we can grow the Genetti Family tree one twig at a time!

I’m happy to announce a major update to our ancestral tree. We have added the family of Erminia Erica Genetti (1876-1972) and Emanuel Maria Recla (1866-1939). Our sincerest thanks to Linda Pettis Sullivan, the great-granddaughter of Erminia and Emanuel. Linda spent a lot of time and effort documenting the details of her family tree. She was also very patient with my many questions, as I sorted out all of the Genetti/Recla descendants. The result: 54 new descendants added to our on-line and off-line family trees, 47 photographs also added to the on-line tree, and 16 family portraits included on the Photograph Page of our website Gallery Section.

Erminia Enrica Genetti Recla (1876 – 1972)

And now, a little background about the Genetti/Recla family. Erminia was the youngest daughter of Leone and Cattarina Genetti of Castelfondo, Tyrol. Baby sister to Damiano and Raffaele Genetti of Pennsylvania, Erminia arrived in America in 1890 at the young age of fourteen. She soon met and married Emanuel Maria Recla in 1893, a fellow Tyrolean ten years her senior. Emanuel was born in the neighboring village of Tres, located a few miles up the road from Castelfondo. He came to the United States in 1882. Emanuel’s older brother, Raffaele Recla, had married Erminia’s sister, Angela Maddalena Genetti, in 1887. Yes, you have that right – two Recla brothers married two Genetti sisters.

Recla women with their children – 1930

Erminia and Emanuel’s first two children were born in Sheppton, Pennsylvania (the mining town where her sister Angeline Genetti Recla, brother-in-law Raffaele Recla and brother Raffaele Genetti, were living at the time). By 1897, the couple moved to Crystal Falls, Michigan where five more children were born. In 1907 we find the Recla family settled in Spokane, Washington where many of their descendants still live today. Three more children were born in Spokane. Between 1894 and 1915, the couple had eleven children – eight survived to adulthood.

Robert Harry Pettis with brother George Hayes Pettis – 1926

I met Linda and her sister Mary through Ancestry.com. We are all family genealogists and quickly connected through our shared research, as well as cousin matching through DNA results. We are 3rd cousins, with common ancestors being our 2nd great-grandparents, Leone and Cattarina Genetti.

Linda and Mary’s father, Robert, along with his brother George, are still going strong in their 90’s! Their parents were Marie “Mary” Louise Recla and Harry Hayes Pettis. A hearty hello to the Pettis brothers! They are the grandsons of Erminia Genetti and Emanual Recla, and 2nd generation Americans. Linda sent us many wonderful photographs of her dad, Robert, and his brother George. Since I was unable to include all of them on our Photograph Page, I’ve shared many here in this blog post.

Robert Harry Pettis with brother George Hayes Pettis – 1932

Make sure you say hello to Linda when you see her at our Genetti Family Reunion next month. She’ll be easy to spot with her gorgeous flaming red hair! Again, many thanks Linda for your contribution to our ancestral tree. Your research and photos have now become a part of our growing Genetti Archive. Grazie mille!

And just a note about the structure and maintenance of our family tree. We have two separate trees – one off-line and the second published on-line through our website.

The off-line tree is constructed using the genealogy software, Family Tree Maker. It contains all stats and details provided to me for ancestors/descendants both living and deceased, (birth date/place, marriage date/place, death date/place, etc). We currently have 1618 family members listed in this family tree beginning in 1461 (with many more still to be added). This file is the basis for our Genetti Family Archive and is kept as up-to-date as possible with the entry of new births and the passing of family loved ones.

Robert Pettis – about five years old

A digital copy of the off-line family tree in the form of a GEDcom file is available to all descendants free-of-charge, (FYI – you must have appropriate genealogy software to open a GEDcom file). I can also generate a 5-generation descendant report for any family member, also free-of-charge. This can be emailed to you as an easily read PDF file. Simply provide me with the name of the descendant or ancestor that you would like to use as a starting point: Example – you want to generate a report beginning with you and going back five generations. The descendant report will contain all details and stats for your specified five generations.

Our on-line family tree is different in that it shows the complete stats (birth, marriage, death) only for descendants who are deceased. If photographs are available, they are also attached to each family member’s listing. However, all living descendants are noted as “Living” and only the year of their birth is given. This is done to protect the privacy of living family members and is a common practice for all genealogy websites. Our on-line family tree offers many unique search features and the ability to generate your own reports and printable charts.

If I can be of further help concerning the Genetti Family Tree or you would like to update your family information, please email me through our Contact Page.

During the past month, I have been working with Helene Smith Prehatny to create a Family Memory page about her beloved Nono and Nona, Raffaele and Lucia Genetti. The result is a beautiful memoir from Helene’s childhood, recalling loving moments with her grandparents who lived in Weston, Pennsylvania.

Raffaele was Helene’s buddy and mentor, always encouraging his young granddaughter to respect herself and believe “there are no limits in what you can accomplish”. Digging into her collection of photographs, Helene included family portraits that walk us through the years from the late 1890’s to the mid-1940’s. Her well thought-out piece is a moving tribute to her family. And her memoir has now become a treasured part of the Genetti family archive.

All of Helene’s photographs have also been added to the Photograph Page of our Gallery Section(a total of nine new photos!). Make sure to visit this popular page to browse cherished memories of our ancestors.

Do you have special memories that you would like to preserve for future generations? A Family Memory Page is the perfect venue to express your thoughts and thanks to our ancestors. Feel free to email me with your ideas and we’ll work on your Family Memory Page together. Click hereto go to our website contact page.

Our thanks to writer, Jill Whalen, at the Standard-Speaker newspaper for writing an extensive article about the Genetti family of Hazleton, PA. When I sent out press releases a few months back, I had expected just a few paragraphs about our October reunion to be published in the paper. I was completely blown away by the full-page article detailing our family’s history in the area and their involvement in local business. Jill obviously did her research – digging into old family documents, genealogy records and newspaper archives. Since my memories of our family businesses are as a child – my father taking me for a visit to the Tyrolean Room (where he worked) or buying groceries at our local Genetti market, I was surprised by many of the details Jill included in her article. Some of which I wasn’t aware of! What a great piece to include in our growing family archive!

The complete article can be found as a link on our Family News page. Or just click here and go directly to the article page on our website.

Want to read the article online at the Standard-Speaker? Click here for the original story.

I’d like to acknowledge one detail left out of Jill’s article. It was brought to my attention by a descendant of Damiano and Oliva that there was no mention of their daughters or the role they played in establishing the family businesses. This was an unfortunate oversight and I offer my apologies.

Yes, it is my understanding that all of the children (including their daughters) worked hard to help the family prosper in a new land. Until they married and left the family home, the five Genetti daughters all contributed in some way to the growing business. Two daughters, Esther and Anne, also had official job titles within the Genetti company. According to the Federal Census, Esther never married and worked for many years as a bookkeeper in the family business. Youngest daughter, Anne, was also a bookkeeper in the Genetti offices until her marriage to James McNelis in 1932.

Our family history centers around the four Genetti sons, but often ignores their sisters and the part they played in establishing D. Genetti & Sons. My sincerest apologies to the descendants of these dedicated women (Dora, Tillie, Esther, Erminia and Angela) who were regrettably overlooked in this recent article.

I also would like to acknowledge the many grandchildren (and great-grandchildren!) of Daminano and Oliva who worked in the family businesses throughout the years. You are part of the entrepreneurial spirit our ancestors brought with them on the long journey from Castelfondo to Hazleton. I applaud your contribution to our family history!

Social Networks

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important! Names and email addresses of subscribers are never shared or sold. When you subscribe, it is to receive blog posts from The Genetti Genealogy Project via email. All subscribers are opt-in only. By subscribing to this blog, you acknowledge and fully understand our privacy policy and freely consent to the collection of information (name and email).

What’s New?

Find out what's new on our website: site updates, new products in our shop, family tree info, new pages, etc.

June 25, 2018: New Sales page added to website announcing current sales and ongoing specials in our Genetti Family Shop.

May 10, 2018: Gus and Val Genetti receive Community Service Award from The Luzerne Foundation

March 8, 2018: the passing of Lori Zamko Liptok

February 3, 2018: the passing of Wilma Jean (Ortigo) Reich

January 15, 2018: the passing of Joseph Anthony LaPorte

January 3, 2018: congratulations to Jacqueline and Michael Sullivan on the birth of a son.

December 18, 2017: the passing of Leon A. Genetti Jr.

December 10, 2017: the passing of Olivia (Reich) Hearn

November 20, 2017: the passing of Regina (Jean) Branz Daly

November 12, 2017: the passing of Edward F. Genetti

August 17, 2017: lots of new family photos added to the Photograph Page in the Gallery section.

August 12, 2017: the passing of Robert Harry Pettis

May 4, 2017: 117 new family members have been added to the Genetti family tree.

Affiliate Disclaimer

In full transparency, please be aware that this blog contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission to me (at no extra cost to you!) This allows me to do what I LOVE to do, supports the costs involved with maintaining this website and helps pay the fees associated with genealogical research. Thank you to everyone who supports this family website by purchasing from our Bookstore and Family Shop.